The Ten Commandments Show That God Is Perfect

Do you consider yourself a pretty good person? If God demands moral perfection in thought, word, and deed, how will anyone enter into Heaven? First, take a look at the Ten Commandments to fully understand why we need a Savior.

The Ten Commandments

Why don’t we find out who is good enough to make it into Heaven, by looking at most of the Ten Commandments, found in the Bible.

Commandment # 1: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Many people put other things before God. Money is the most common. But anything that you spend more time worshiping than God can be an idol.

Have you devoted your life to anything that could be considered a god in your life?

Commandment #2: “You shall not make a graven image before you in the likeness of God.”

Have you created for yourself your own god? This is more common than we realize. When we say that our god is one way and accepts certain things that we know to be wrong, this is creating our own god, which is a sin.

If you believe God is accepting of all religions, this is a created god you have made up. If you believe God allows you to do sinful things and it is okay, this is a created god.

Understand the real character of God, and what he desires of us by reading the Bible, and then checking with a pastor to see if you correctly understand what you read. Find a local Bible-believing and preaching church for help with this.

Commandment #3: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

Have you ever used God’s name as a swear word, or have you ever joked around and used God or Jesus’ name when you did not really mean it?

This is taking the Lord’s name in vain. Many people are guilty of doing this.

Wait. Hold on a second. Most of you have glossed over Commandments # 6 & 7. But wait. Jesus took these Commandments a step further. He says in Matthew 5 of the Bible that if you are angry with your brother or even called someone a fool, you have sinned in the same way as murder. He also says that if you have looked upon someone with lust in your mind, you are guilty of adultery.

So let’s try this again. Have you ever hated anyone? Or have you ever looked upon another person with lust?

If so, you are considered a murderous adulterer before God. Do you think you will be given a free pass into Heaven? No. There is no "free pass" so to speak. But God did provide a way, which will be provided in more detail below.

So far, we have only looked at five out of the Ten Commandments, and many have already been disqualified from being deemed perfect.

But I'm sure there is a wise guy out there that still claims to be perfect. So let's keep going.

Innocent or Guilty?

After going through the Ten Commandments, would you be found on the Day of Judgment innocent or guilty?

If you are being honest with yourself, then you will see that you are guilty of at least one of the Commandments.

So, if you are guilty, then would God, the perfect judge, sentence you to Heaven or Hell? Based on a guilty verdict, God would sentence you to Hell - a place of eternal torment.

But wait. As you are about to receive this punishment, Jesus steps in.

Picture a perfect man, pleading with the Judge (God the Father) for your life. Only Jesus - the perfect and sinless man - could offer his life for yours. Only he can save you from the guilty verdict of Hell.

Now, are you going to accept his offer to trust in Him, and escape a guilty verdict, or are you going to choose a life without God?

Conclusion After Looking at the Ten Commandments

The Bible says in 1 Cor. 6:9: “…do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

God judges us on moral perfect in thought, word and deed. If you are guilty of breaking one of the Commandments, then it is time to get right with God. Ask God for forgiveness.

But then you must believe that Jesus died on the cross to wash away your sins. Only the blood of a perfect man could atone for your wrongdoings. That is what Jesus did. He loved you enough to die in your place. Jesus - being fully God and fully man - then resurrected himself on the third day, and defeated death so that you and I could go to Heaven.

Sin is what keeps us from God. Every man and woman must individually seek God and repent from their sins, putting their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then you will be granted everlasting life with God in Heaven.

No one is perfect. That should be made clear. There is no one good enough to keep God’s perfect law. If you claim you have kept it all, then you are obviously a liar, and have broken one of God's Commandments. Need I say more?

This should tell emphasize to you the importance of every individual person to get right with God.

@David - There are also many laws that the Jewish people created that were extensions onto God's law, but it created a legalistic society rather than the whole point of God's law. The first 5 of the commandments are essentially to "Love God" and the last 5 are essentially to "Love Others." Also keep in mind that once Jesus died on the cross, Christians are no longer under the letter of the law but now under the spirit of the law.

@David - Also note that these 600+ Rules and Laws in the OT were given to the Israelites given in their best interest for daily living. These are no longer applicable for today for Christians unless given to the church in the New Testament.

@David - Please provide a scripture reference to the laws Welcome the Stranger and Repair the World.

I was referring to The Law of Atonement or Sacrificial Law that requires sacrifices for a sin debt. Ritualistic law is also included in that which believers do not have to take part in. Examples would be ritualistic washings, who could be married or associated with; what manner of dress and grooming was acceptable; what foods could be eaten, etc.Ritualistic law, both sacrificial and purification were fulfilled by Jesus. Scripture references (Matt 5:17; Rom 10:4; Gal. 3:24-25; Rom. 3:28.)

There are almost 120 passages in the Bible regarding "Welcoming the stranger" and this is not the kind of legalist laws set forth for Israel that Gentile believers must keep.

What I was saying is that Christianity is not about keeping 600+ rules and laws. If you love God and love others as the 10 commandments are conveying, then you will be honoring God. Thank you for your comments.

@Legend - Repentance is to change one's mind and to go the other way, but that doesn't fix the problem of sin that you have already committed, it only attempts to prevent future sin. People cannot atone for their own sins. The whole idea of atonement is for something perfect to take the place of something imperfect. Since all people have sinned we cannot atone for our own sins without a perfect sacrifice, which Jesus fulfilled on the cross. By trusting in Him as your Savior and following Him you plus repentence, you too can be atoned for. It is not something you can do for yourself.